$60b plan for Auckland transport

ROBERT KIDD

Last updated 18:47 27/03/2013

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A $60 billion plan to address Auckland’s transport issues has been announced.

Auckland Transport’s programme – which they have dubbed “One System” – sets out the 30-year investment scheme, which has been developed by Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency in collaboration with Auckland Council.

The programme covers state highways and local roads as well as railways, buses, ferries, footpaths, cycleways and supporting facilities such as parking and park-and-ride.

Auckland Transport chairman Lester Levy said the programme was visionary.

“It is not just aspirational, it is a realistic programme of work to be delivered over the next 30 years as we push to make Auckland a vibrant city with close to two and a half million people,”

The cost of fully funding the transport programme over the next 30 years is estimated at around $60 billion but given current funding sources there was an estimated gap of between $10 billion and $15 billion to deliver the fully-funded programme.

The costs will peak over the next 10 years due to major investments in projects such as the City Rail Link, the Western Ring Route, the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative and the East-West Corridor.

Dr Levy said funding would be a key issue in successfully addressing the challenges of growth in the years ahead.

The share for walking, cycling and public transport would rise from the current 23 per cent to 32.2 per cent in 2022 under full funding.

Dr Levy said the investment was crucial, as the levels of congestion forecast for Auckland by 2041 are well in excess of the current levels experienced in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.